PHARMACY FRIDAY - Ceylon Cinnamon

CEYLON CINNAMON - - TRUE Cinnamon! This is the REAL stuff! When I finally broke down, coughed up the money, and ordered some of this stuff, I wondered the whole time I was awaiting its arrival if I had wasted my money. Then when it came in, I opened it, took a huge sniff of it, and great memories of my  childhood immediately came back! THAT was the cinnamon I remembered as a child! THAT was the cinnamon aroma I had been missing, THAT was the cinnamon I had used several mornings a week in my beloved Cinnamon  Toast! And if you recall from last week's post, using that much Cassia cinnamon (such I heavily used on my cinnamon toast several times a week) could cause serious health problems.

Real Cinnamon (Ceylon Cinnamon), is a medicinal spice which is harvested from an Evergreen tree knows as cinnamomum zeylanicum. It is actually very different from that of its imposter namesake. Ceylon Cinnamon is much sweeter, more delicate, has a much more refined flavor, has far less side effects, and contains barely measurable amounts of coumarin (unlike the Cassia cinnamon which contains much more, so much more that it is easy to overdose on it).

Ceylon Cinnamon is said to regulate blood sugar levels in  many people, increase circulation, and aid in digestion difficulties. I personally find Ceylon Cinnamon very helpful with digestion difficulties, where the Cassia cinnamon often gives me severe indigestion. I also find the Ceylon Cinnamon to be a great help in my natural pain relief regimen!

Ceylon cinnamon is a very strong anti-inflammatory, which is probably one reason it helps so well with my arthritis, and has me up going to the bathroom during the night, when I consume it in my hot drink before I got to bed.
Some recent studies also show it to have great promise in the treatment of several types of cancers. And that is wonderful news!

So when you are looking at the two different cinnamons (Cassia and Ceylon) and see the huge price difference, don't immediately assume you are saving more money by getting the much cheaper imitation cinnamon, Cassia. When you factor in the costs of damage to your body of long term consumption, and/or consumption in large amounts of the Cassia cinnamon, versus the wonderful health benefits of the real stuff, the Ceylon Cinnamon, the pricier looking Ceylon Cinnamon, in the end, may very well be the absolute best bargain! I know that I, myself, will never take a chance again on using the cheap stuff and the fantastic flavor is a delicious added bonus.

Here are some links to some more great info about Ceylon Cinnamon:

from LiveStrong 

from Love To Know - great list of many possible health benefits

10 Benefits of Ceylon Cinnamon 

from Cinnamon Vogue - - 20 uses for real cinnamon

Cinnamon as a strong anti-inflammatory and in natural cancer treatments